The objective is to describe a conceptual framework consisting of business ethics triangles. Models are used to describe and analyse the background and recent incidents in Systembolaget and Skandia, two large corporate organisations in Sweden. One is owned by the state and the other is privately owned. On the other hand, the conceptual framework provides a frame of reference for further research in the field of business ethics focusing on the ethical values and principles in the marketplace and in the society. Suggestions that may improve the best practise and the theory development of ethical values and principles in business ethics are presented at the end of this paper.

2.

Svensson, Göran

et al.

Oslo School of Management, Oslo, Norway.

Helgesson, Thomas

Halmstad University, School of Business and Engineering (SET), Centre for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Learning Research (CIEL).

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the “scientific identity” of the “top” research journals in the broader discipline of marketing by examining the methodological approaches and the geographical affiliations of authors published in selected journals. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of “top” research journals in marketing is selected on the basis of expert opinion and journal ranking lists. The selection includes the Journal of Consumer Research (JCR), Journal of Marketing (JM), Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), Journal of Retailing (JR), Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS); and Marketing Science (MS). Findings – The “scientific identities” of JCR, JM, JMR, JR, JAMS and MS are revealed as being built on quantitative research designs and the North American paradigm of research values. In fact, all journals are US-based. None was found to be based on a mix of empirical research designs. The selected research journals were found to be narrowly focused, and the lack of variety of “scientific identities” among the journals studied here is discomfiting for the ongoing scientific knowledge building and theory generation in marketing. Research limitations/implications – Further studies of the “scientific identity” of individual research journals are desirable in other sub-disciplines of marketing. A series of questions have been raised that the authors argue are worthy of further attention and debate in the world-wide research community. Practical implications – Researchers will benefit from insights into the “scientific identities” of the “top” research journals in the broader discipline of marketing. In particular, researchers can note the particular feature of dogmatic narrowness of research designs that are present in all of these journals.Originality/value – The study delivers insights into the publishing requirements of “top” research journals in the broader discipline of marketing. It provides some challenging and discomfiting findings.

Purpose – The aim is to describe the “empirical characteristics” of the “top” journals in mainstream marketing by assessing selected journals with respect to: the proportion of “empirical” versus “non-empirical” contributions; the proportion of national versus international research data; the geographical origin of research data; and the geographical affiliations of the authors whose articles are published. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of “top” scholarly journals in mainstream marketing is selected on the basis of expert opinion and journal ranking lists. The evaluation considers all available articles at the time of data collection (a total of 1,463) published in these journals over a seven-year period from 2000 to 2006. Findings – A large proportion of all contributions in the selected journals were “empirical” in nature. Although this finding is not unexpected in scholarly journals, it is apparent that the journals evaluated also provide opportunities for non-empirical contributions. Other “empirical characteristics” were found to be skewed. Research limitations/implications – This evaluation is limited to the “empirical characteristics” of “top” journals in mainstream marketing. Practical implications – The study provides valuable insights into the nature of academic publishing in the area of top journals of mainstream marketing. Originality/value – Scholars will benefit from insights into the “empirical characteristics” of the “top” journals in mainstream marketing. In particular, scholars can note the particular features of individual journals. Further studies of the “empirical characteristics” of individual research journals are required in other sub-disciplines of marketing.